Dogs and horses top accident poll

A recent study carried out by BBC researchers for a TV programme has revealed that dogs and horses are the pets that cause their owners the highest number of injuries.

The group, who were working on data collected for the BBC 1 programme Death by Pets, found that nearly 150,000 people end up in hospital every year after being injured by their pets.

The worst offenders were dogs, who left 68,000 people in need of medical assistance. Horses were second, forcing 45,000 people to take a trip to casualty.

The programme, which was aired on BBC 1 on Wednesday evening at 8.30pm, looked at the various accidents caused by pets.

The most widespread problem was vicious dogs while the majority of horse-related injuries were the result of falls.

However, developmental psychologist Marinella Parisi thinks these findings must be placed into context: “Giving birth may occasionally have dramatic consequences – nevertheless people continue to have babies. The same applies to having pets. Dogs and horses fulfil many emotional needs and this far outweighs any accidents they may sometimes cause to their owners.”